Throughout the preparation and execution of the mission, maintenance and operations task force personnel from the 91st Missile Wing out of Minot AFB, N.D., integrated with the 576th FLTS to perform operational tasks. Members of the 576th FLTS installed tracking, telemetry and command destruct systems on the missile to collect data and meet 30th Space Wing safety requirements.

"It's really something when you see a truly outstanding team come together," Colonel Buck said. "These are dangerous times we're living in right now. It's extremely important our combatant commander has the capabilities he needs to perform the mission of fighting and winning our nation's wars. Testing an operational asset pulled from the missile field at Minot provides us confidence our weapon system is capable of performing when needed."

The data collected will be used by the entire ICBM community, including the U.S. Strategic Command planners and Department of Energy laboratories.